Nick Pepper to Head TV at Legendary, Exits Mark Gordon Co.

The news comes days after Gordon became president and chief content officer of independent studio Entertainment One, which acquired the remaining 49 percent of his company.

Nick Pepper is moving from the Mark Gordon Co. to Legendary Television.

Pepper, who has served as head of television at the Mark Gordon Co. since 2011, will serve in the same capacity at Legendary Television, sources say. Pepper will begin at Legendary Television after his contract with the Mark Gordon Co. expires May 31.

Pepper's move comes days after Gordon was tapped to serve president and chief content officer of independent studio Entertainment One after the company acquired the remaining 49 percent of the Mark Gordon Co. Between now and May 31, Pepper will focus on Mark Gordon Co.'s ABC straight-to-series drama The Rookie.

Pending shareholder approval, Entertainment One will acquire the Mark Gordon Co. in a deal worth $209 million. As part of the pact, Steve Bertram has been named president of film, TV and digital, overseeing all commercial and distribution operations. That left little room for Pepper.

“Nick has contributed greatly to our success in television,” Gordon said in a statement. “He is a wildly talented executive poised for continued success wherever his next chapter takes him. I look forward to following the next step in an already stellar career.”

Pepper takes over as president of television at Legendary after Lauren Whitney exited the company for a similar role at Miramax TV in October.

“I have been incredibly fortunate to have been mentored by Mark, one of the best producers in the business," Pepper said. "It is now time for me to pursue other opportunities and continue my career in content creation. I will be forever grateful to Mark and the team for their support these many years and for all that we have accomplished together.”

During his time with the Mark Gordon Co., Pepper has helped develop scripted originals including Designated Survivor, with the Kiefer Sutherland drama landing a straight-to-series order at ABC and a lucrative second window with Netflix; and ABC's Quantico and multiple pilots at the Disney-owned network, where the company had an overall deal until striking out to go independent before the eOne pact. This season, the Mark Gordon Co. earned a straight-to-series order for Nathan Fillion drama The Rookie, which Pepper executive produces.

Before joining the Mark Gordon Co., Pepper was vp drama at ABC Studios, where he oversaw series including Desperate Housewives, Lost and Brothers and Sisters. Before that, he worked on the network side, working on programming including Ugly Betty, Pushing Daisies and Commander-in-Chief. Additionally, the former actor also has experience in unscripted, working as a director in that department at the network as well.

Pepper is the second key hire for Legendary to come after Joshua Grode was tapped as the company's CEO in December. Pepper joins Jiang Wei, who was tapped to serve as CEO of Legendary East — the company's Chinese studio — earlier this month.

Legendary Television's credits include Amazon's Carnival Row, Hulu's The Looming Tower, Netflix's Lost in Space and Love and USA Network's Colony, among others.